Tag Archives: alfalfa

I’d say this is the straw that broke the camel’s back…but I dare not, because I know this is only the beginning. Whole Foods, leader of natural grocery stores nationwide, and other industry leaders in “organic” foods Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm relented under mounting pressure from all angles Thursday, and gave their approval for the USDA to use genetically-modified alfalfa seed in crops – proving once again that in this world, commodity-driven, profits-based monopoly models are what drive all decisions made in political and legal realms.

And sold the future of real organics and sustainability down the river.

Of course it’s not just the fact that those seeds will eventually contaminate everything in the environment (and that’s pretty bad as it is). In addition, anyone practicing any other type of farming will lose sales and be be left high and dry if any trace of genetic engineering is found in their crops. And cross-pollination is more than just a possibility when fields containing genetically-modified seeds are nearby. Exports of non-organic but non-engineered crops to certain countries can be jeopardized if genetically engineered material is detected in significant amounts. Farmers can actually be held libel if these substances turn up on their land – even if they don’t want it there in the first place.

Tell me, does this even make sense?

What’s going on here is not concerned with ethics, morals, the health of human beings, animals, the environment, or anything that’s inherently good for the planet. And this type of thing has been going on for decades. Look at any of our major laws and regulations (and many minor ones too) – all dominated by big industry and crooked government decisions…but this has sunken to a new level of corruption and deceit. Especially when large, hypocritical “organic” companies agree to something like this. When that happens, it’s evident that right and wrong simply don’t matter.

GMOs cause allergies, infertility, liver problems, infant mortality, sterility, widespread disease…and death. From the Institute’s web site: “Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only published human feeding experiment revealed that the genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function. This means that long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously inside us.”

Yikes! Still think GMOs are perfectly safe?

This type of organism is also thought to be something that will contribute to yet even more anti-biotic resistant strains of bacteria, as if we need more instances of those in the world.

From the Democratic Underground:

Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto’s controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for “coexistence” with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.

In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and “seed purity,” gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the “conditional deregulation” of Monsanto’s genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa.”

Apparently, Mr. Vilsack persists in the delusion that somehow these genetic seeds will be able to peacefully co-exist with all other forms of crops. Although laughable, this horribly frightening notion is reflected in his quote from the NY Times: “We want to expand and preserve choice for farmers,” he told reporters. “We think the decision reached today is a reflection of our commitment to choice and trust.”

This nail in the coffin will essentially provide a no-holds barred ticket to Monsanto to commit their long-awaited, hostile takeover of the planet. I’m not even sure if it’s possible to really grow organic anymore and call it organic. Some of these other inept corporate heads like George Siemon of Organic Valley are pushing for “more federal oversight” to keep genetically-modified material out of organic crops. Keep dreamin’ George.

But it’s not over yet.

Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety, Andrew Kimbrell, the advocacy group that organized the lawsuit against the Agriculture Department, stated that his organization would be making a request in the near future to the judge to find that the environmental impact statement remains unanswered in terms of what effects will be had on human health and the environment.

“It’s clear that Vilsack caved to pressure from the biotech industry and Monsanto,” he said. “We’ll be back in court seeking to vacate this approval, as we have done in the past.”

What can you do about genetically-modified alfalfa in our food supply?

Guess what folks, it’s way past time for us to stand up for what’s moral and ethical. It’s time for us to understand that each time we buy something from these companies, we are supporting their efforts to continue to poison our food supply, the environment and take away our rights to eat real, honest food – all under the guise of “feeding the world”. I’m sorry, but what a bunch of bullshit!

It’s time for us to take a stand for ourselves, our children, and grandchildren, and refuse to lay down in the road and be run over by these corporations. They have gone too far, and in the name of all that is good, decent, and right, they should not be allowed to continue. We must make an effort to support real, sustainable growers and start growing our own food whenever we can. We can also continue to make our voices loud and clear to decision-makers. With these three actions, we could potentially defeat these criminals who have been allotted free-rein of our food supply, and gambling with the sustainability of our future.